The ADF has repeatedly said that gay people are pedophiles, called homosexuality “evil,” and said that LGBTQ rights lead to the “sexual exploitation” of children. They want the government to criminalize homosexuality “to protect society at large” and they decry the “homosexual agenda,” a nefarious scheme to destroy Christianity.

But Sessions called the designation a “weapon.”

“They have used this designation as a weapon and they have wielded it against conservative organizations that refuse to accept their orthodoxy and choose instead to speak for their conscience and their beliefs,” he told the ADF. “They use it to bully and intimidate groups that fight for religious freedom, these constitutional rights of the American people.”

He also said that he doesn’t believe that the ADF is a hate group.

“You and I may not agree on everything — but I wanted to come back here tonight partially because I wanted to say this: You are not a hate group.” He got loud applause for that line.

“In a manner analogous to how the Department of Justice defines hate crimes, we identify hate groups as those that vilify others because of their race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability – prejudices that strike at the heart of our democratic values and fracture society along its most fragile fault lines,” said SPLC President Richard Cohen.

“Just as sincerely held religious beliefs would not be a defense to a hate crime prosecution, vilifying others in the name of religion should not immunize a group from being designated as a hate group, in our view.”